SU Referendum Update: The Motion is Passed

This evening the Students’ Union Referendum passed with a majority of 44 votes.

This means that the Officer elections in March will be electing 5 instead of 7 officers. However, it’s too early to tell which positions those will be. The National Union of Students will now conduct a SU Governance Review, using focus groups and student surveys to determine how Swansea students want to be represented; the first time this study has been conducted in the University’s 93 year history.

However, this referendum has raised questions over the participation of Swansea students. In order for a referendum to become policy it requires 2/3 Student Vote as well as unanimous trustee support. SU policy states that a referendum needs at least 3% of the student body to vote in order to be valid, and the referendum came painfully close to failing, as it received only 5 more votes than the 459 vote quota.